Membership

October 2012

Dear Colleagues:

A new month has passed and many important activities are happening;

The IASLC nomination process is still open (see below).

We would like all the IASLC members to pay attention to the announcements for the new IASLC fellowships announced in this issue of the Newsletter and encourage as many applications as possible. The announcement is also translated in different languages and can be found on the IASLC web site (www.iaslc.org).

The Heine Hansen fellowship fundraising effort is ongoing and we will encourage as many as possible to support this effort. Many of you would have known Dr. Hansen personally and others would know of his significant contributions to the IASLC development.

As we approach the IASLC 40 year anniversary, many activities are planned, among them the IASLC history that links to the history of developments in lung cancer (i. e biology, screening, molecular therapy etc) over the last 40 years.

The deadline for our CEO search has now passed and several excellent candidates are being evaluated. The new CEO will officially take office after the WLCC in Sidney, but will most likely be hired before that to ensure a smooth transition at the IASLC Headquarters and in the organization.

For our US members, please send your input to the new FDA patient-focused drug development initiative as described below.

Our regional meetings and educational activities continue with great success. Coming soon is the Asian Pacific Lung Cancer Conference in Fukuoka, Japan and we hope to see many Asian colleagues at that meeting.

As we now move towards the annual World Lung Cancer Conferences (WLCC) starting in 2016, the IASLC Board is currently exploring sites for the upcoming WLCC for 2017 (Asia and “rest of the world”) and for 2018 in Europe.

We would like to encourage our members to join the different IASLC webinars, which have been announced and can be found on the IASLC web site.

With best regards,

Fred R. Hirsch, MD, PhD

Editor, IASLC Newsletter

5th APLCC ITMIG IASLC Conference, November 26-28, 2012

IASLC member input is requested for FDA's new patient-focused drug development initiative (deadline October 31st)

We wanted to make our U.S. members aware of an opportunity to give public input to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). On September 24, the FDA announced a new five-year, patient-focused drug development initiative.

The initiative is focused around enhancing benefit-risk assessment in regulatory decision-making. A key part of the decision-making is understanding the severity of the treated condition and the adequacy of the existing treatment options. The FDA plans to conduct public meetings on this topic focusing on 20 different disease areas. The FDA nominated 39 disease areas to be considered, including lung cancer. Between now and November 1, the FDA will hear public comments to identify a final list of 20 conditions for the new initiative. We believe this provides IASLC members an opportunity to communicate to the FDA about the importance of lung cancer. If you’re interested, please complete IASLC's online form. We will compile the letters and mail them to the FDA. The full link to the IASLC online form is located here: http://form.jotformpro.com/form/22785310395961.

IASLC 40th Anniversary Professor Heine H. Hansen Fellowship

As we embark on the next 40 years of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, we pause to celebrate the past 40 years. The IASLC Board of Directors commemorates this notable time in the IASLC history by a 40th Anniversary Campaign to raise money for an additional fellowship in order to strengthen our education of the next generation lung cancer investigators. This fellowship will be named in Professor Heine H. Hansen’s honor. Professor Hansen was instrumental in the development of the IASLC. He was Congress President of the 2nd World Conference on Lung Cancer in Copenhagen in 1980. He served on the Board of Directors from 1985 to 1994 and served as the President from 1988-1991. Prof. Hansen was the first Executive Director of the IASLC (1991-2001) and was also the founder of the first IASLC journal Lung Cancer in 1985. He was a leader in developing international guidelines for the staging and treatment of small cell lung cancer and arranged many international workshops in this field. He received the IASLC Merit Award in 1997 and became the first Honorary Member in 2003. The IASLC fellowships benefit young researchers with the intention of encouraging innovative research in lung cancer prevention and translational medicine worldwide. Board members have made significant contributions to kick off this campaign. Please show your commitment to the IASLC 40th Anniversary Campaign by contributing to the Professor Heine H. Hansen Fellowship.

Heine H. Hansen, M.D., Ph.D. (1938-2011)

Name: ________________________________________________________

Commitment Amount: USD 1,000 500 100 50 Other __________

Send payments to: IASLC

13100 E. Colfax Ave Unit 10

Aurora, CO 80011

IASLC Lung Cancer Fellowship Award

2 years duration

IASLC Young Investigators Award

2 years duration

IASLC/PCF Prevent Cancer Foundation Fellowship Award

2 years duration

The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer is proud to announce the annual IASLC Fellowship and Young Investigators Programs.

Applications are now requested for the 2013 – 2014 Fellowship and Young Investigator award cycle. Overall, there will be a minimum of three awards of $40,000 per year, each for a duration of two years (total $80,000 per grant), with at least one recipient from each region (North America, Europe and Rest of the World) funded. The Prevent Cancer Foundation (PCF) will jointly sponsor awards focused on lung cancer prevention and translational research, supported through educational grants.

The goal is to reward scientific excellence and to encourage innovative research in lung cancer prevention and translational medicine. Applications will be evaluated by a Scientific Review Panel for their merit, innovation and potential impact on the management of lung cancer. The deadline for submission is January 16, 2013. A decision on applications will be reached by March 2013.

2012 Chicago Multidisciplinary Symposium in Thoracic Oncology

Now the IASLC Satellite Symposium is Available On-Demand

Molecular Testing for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Critical Questions

Participate in this multidisciplinary program that reviews key questions in the clinical application of molecular diagnostics in advanced NSCLC: who, why, what, how, and when to do molecular testing in NSCLC patients.

As in other IASLC.org programs, downloadable slide presentations and transcripts are available. You can access the program from your PC or iPAD.

IASLC Web-based Education Programs

NOW AVAILABLE FROM THE IASLC WEBINAR SERIES:

In 2011, the Journal for Thoracic Oncology published the “International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer/American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society International Multidisciplinary Classification of Lung Adenocarcinoma,” issued by a multidisciplinary team of lung cancer specialists. To better understand the general implications of this new classification, and the issues affecting specific specialties, please join us for this On-Demand Webinar Series.

Women and Lung Cancer - CME-certified Audio-guided Web course

The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) has partnered with joint sponsors Penn State College of Medicine and Rockpointe to bring a CME-certified webcourse to oncologists caring for patients with lung cancer.

IASLC is now a CME Provider

The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) has been awarded Provisional Accreditation as a Continuing Medical Education (CME) provider by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).

A two-year term of Provisional Accreditation is the highest award possible for initial applicants such as the IASLC. IASLC was found to fulfill all accreditation requirements set forth by ACCME and is certified as a CME provider from July 2012 until July 31, 2014.

JTO is now available as an iPad app, and can be downloaded from the App Store.

Starting with September, each issue will be available within the app the same day it is mailed and posted at jto.org. The first few issues will be free, but soon access will be restricted to members and paid subscribers. The same log in used for jto.org will be used to sign into the app when that feature is enabled. If you haven’t registered for a user name and password, you can do that any time at jto.org.

The app includes every page of the journal in a format optimized for reading on an iPad. Users can pinch and zoom to increase the size of figures and tables, scroll through the issue with the “quick view” feature, link directly from the table of contents to articles, and email articles to colleagues. Since the issue is downloaded in its entirety, the journal can be read later even if the iPad is in “airplane” mode or no connectivity is available. Issues can be saved on the iPad, or archived after reading and downloaded again at any time, as long as the user is still an IASLC member or paid subscriber. Notifications can be enabled to provide updates when a new issue is available.

We hope you will download and use JTO on your iPad. All of the features that make JTO so valuable to your practice are included, but now you can take issues with you whenever you have your iPad.

IASLC Staging Manual:

The IASLC Staging Manual and Handbook in Thoracic Oncologic has now surpassed 35,000 copies sold worldwide. In addition, the Staging Posters and Reference Cards continue to be popular reference aids of the 7th edition staging system for practitioners and tumor boards. IASLC members can continue to order these publications and products at special member pricing (www.iaslcpubs.org; contact info@iaslc-staging.org for further information).

In addition, translations of these publications have been completed or are in process in multiple languages: Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Polish, and Turkish. Discussions about future translations in Spanish, Arabic, and Russian are ongoing.

The new IASLC Staging Manual has been published in different formats. Several years of work from the IASLC Staging Committee and particularly the chair Dr. Peter Goldstraw, has resulted in a formal staging manual. The book and the “pocket-cards” can be ordered at www.iaslc.org

iPhone/iPad Staging Atlas

IASLC Board of Director Election 2013

In 2013, the IASLC will hold an election for a President-Elect from North America, a Treasurer and 8 new Board members (3 from North America, 3 from Europe, and 2 from Asia/Australia/South America/Africa). The Board of Directors has a total of 15 Directors, 5 each from North America, Europe, and Asia/Australia/South America/Africa. The Board of Directors should be diverse in terms of specialty and gender. Under current bylaws the terms of office are as follows:

New members of the Board of Directors will be elected for a two-year period 2013-2015, potentially renewable for an additional term. The President-Elect will serve three terms (President-Elect, President and Past President). The Treasurer will serve up to two terms.

The following board members will remain as elected members of the Board from 2013-2015.

North America

Alex Adjei, medical oncology

Carolyn Dresler, surgery

Europe

Christian Manegold, medical oncology

Silvia Novello, pulmonology

Asia/Australia/South America/Africa

Kazuhiko Nakagawa, medical oncology

Sumitra Thongprasert, medical oncology

Tetsuya Mitsudomi, surgery

The Nominating Committee is seeking nominations for the President-Elect, Treasurer and Board seats. You are encouraged to nominate yourself and/or another IASLC member to one of these positions.

An ideal candidate is one who is actively engaged in the IASLC and consistently attends the World Conference on Lung Cancer and/or other IASLC conferences, and willing to attend approximately four board meetings per year and to serve on IASLC Committees.